Hold On Till May
by WorthlessExcellence
Summary: Clare Edwards is new to Canada. She just moved there with her mom to live with her new stepdad, Glen Martin. The sudden uproot leaves Clare devastated and depressed. Who; or what will save her from her newfound sadness?
1. Chapter 1

Hi guys. First story on my new account. Hopefully you like this story. If not, sorry. I know its super short, but I shall make it up to you all later.

~WorthlessExcellence

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Clare Edwards walked through the threshold of her new home, securing the door behind her. She sank down the back of it, suddenly feeling as if she could no longer support herself. She had just gotten through her first day at her new school, and Clare could already tell she was going to hate it. Her mother, Helen, had just re-married, causing her life to be uprooted from sunny California, and shoved into the snowy nothingness of Toronto, Canada. She had a new step brother as well. Upon first meeting him she thought he was attractive in a lumberjack sort of way, but after spending time with him and his personality, she could tell that he wouldn't make this move any more joyful.

After hearing her mother enter the kitchen just across from the door where Clare currently rested, she shot up, not letting her mom see any weakness.

"Hi mom." Clare spoke up, making her mother realize her presence.

"Oh hi honey." Helen responded, looking back down at the paperwork in her hand.

"My first day wasn't that great. I mean I joined yearbook and everything, but the kids here just seem a little... Odd. I don't know if I'm going to fit in." Doubt could be seen in Clare's eyes.

"Your going to be fine. Now. Since we are Martins now, we must uphold the name. Your father is holding a dinner tonight downtown. We expect you to make an appearance. I'm sure you met one nice boy today. Track him down on facerange or whatever you kids use today."

"And what if I didn't find a 'nice boy' mom?" Clare put air quotes around the words nice and boy. "What do you want me to do then?"

"Excuse you young lady. Well then Jake will just have to escort you and that nice Jenna girl he is seeing."

Clare groaned and made her way up to her room. Glen Martin had made quite a name for himself in Canada. He was one of the leading environmentally friendly construction workers in the country, making a cooperation out of his name.

Clare thought of all the kids she had met today. Only two sticking out in her memory. The boy clad in black, seated in front of her in her English class. Eli? Maybe that was his name. There was no way she was bringing him with her. Then there was that other boy, the one with the slightly girlish fetchers, none the less one of the nicest kids she had met all day. He showed her around the school, and even sat with her at lunch, putting up with awkward silences when Clare's lack of social experiences came out to play.

Clare mentally slapped herself for thinking she would even consider going to the event tonight. She refused to make her mother happy when she had ripped Clare away from everything that had ever made her happy. Her best friend from home, Holly J. And even her boyfriend, Fitz. They could have stayed together, but they came to the mutual decision that breaking up would suit them best. They had exchanged a text or two, but it was over.

Unpacking her stereo, Clare took out her cd collection. Lately she had been into heavier music, such as A Day To Remember, Pierce the Veil, and the classic Fall Out Boy. Taking her Fall Out Boy disk, Clare turned up her stereo almost as loud as she could, the song Get Busy Living Or Get Busy Dying poured from the speakers. She flew backwards onto her bed, thinking about the hollow feeling inside, the feeling of despair, and wanting to give up. As the melodies of Fall Out Boy carried her to a soft slumber, her thoughts briefly drifted to the green eyed boy that had grabbed her attention earlier that day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys. New chapter. Hope you all like it. I don't own any song names/ band names i mention in this story, and i dont own degrassi.**

**NamilovesDegrassi98-I love that song too. It seriously makes me cry sometimes. Haha.**

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Clare wasn't quite use to her new lifestyle yet. In her old house, she really didn't have much room to do anything. Helen and Clare had shared a 2 bedroom apartment. Here, the Martins lived in what must have been considered a mansion.

Getting ready in the morning, Clare couldn't take in how large her bathroom was. Her own personal bathroom. She was getting ready for her third day at Degrassi, and she still felt as if she was a misfit. Adam talked to her daily, and Eli occasionally acknowledged the fact she was alive.

"Clare! Get down here. Im ready to go." Jake screamed. He was required by their parents to drive Clare to school, but he wasn't very excited about it.

She made her way down the grand staircase, and at the bottom was a waiting Jake. He gestured in a way that said 'get your ass moving.'

Once the awkward car ride had ended, they were at the school and Clare wanted to leave already. She didn't see the familiar black hearse in the student lot, so she figured that seeing Eli today was out of the question. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she felt an attraction to him. Something about the sarcastic, black adoring boy drew her in.

"Clare, right?" She heard a petite voice ask her.

"Um yea..."

"Hi. I'm Ali. I heard your new here." The small Indian girl smiled at her, and continued to chat, not paying attention to if Clare was responding or not.

They walked on together, eventually running into Adam on the stairs.

"Clare! I see you met Ali. Hey Ali." Adam's cheeks turned a slight pinkish as he spoke to her.

"Adam. How are you?" Ali asked him.

"Pretty good. But I need to steal Clare." Before Ali could protest Clare's departure, she was whisked away by Adam into the school and to Clare's locker.

"Hey Adam. Whats going on?" He had a look in his eye that showed that something was bothering him.

"Oh um nothing much." He avoided Clare's eyes.

Adam then sighed, deciding to tell Clare what was on his mind; at least some of it.

"I may or may not have some feelings for Ali."

Clare stared at him for a few moments before a smile graced her face. Adam could tell it was a real smile. Her eyes even looked as if they were smiling.

"Good for you Adam. Really. I see potential between the two of you. Why don't you talk to her, ask her out on a date even?"  
"Ah Clare. You must not have heard the gossip."

"What gossip?" Clare asked, not big on rumors or gossip.

"I have something to tell you. Don't freak out on me or anything though. But I'm F to M transgender. That doesn't really make girls flock to me. Not to mention Ali use to date my brother, Drew."

Clare stared into Adam's eyes.

"Adam. You are an amazing person. People should see past your situation. They should't pay attention to the rumors or the gossip. They should just see the true guy you are, the wonderful one I have come to know."

Clare spoke the truest words she could muster, and she could tell Adam was honestly listening to what she was saying. After her self confidence rant, she continued to assist Adam with his situation with Ali.

"But ins't Drew with Bianca? I think that's her name. Curly hair. Tall. Sort of... Seems like a welcome mat if your picking up what I'm throwing down."  
Taking into consideration that the bell was going to ring soon, Clare grabbed some books from her locker and Adam began to speak again.

"He is. Guy code Clare. Get with it."

The bell rang right on schedule, interrupting their conversation, and the pair started to make their way down the hall.

"Hey Adam?"  
"Whats up?"  
"Where's Eli?" It bothered Clare that he wasn't at school, because he made the school day, and accelerated english, bearable.

Adam sighed and looked down, contemplating what to tell her.

"Thats something you have to ask him."

Clare stopped in her tracks, but Adam continued on, leaving Clare to wonder what in the world was going on with Eli.


	3. Chapter 3

**So I got foot surgery this week, and then I came down with quite the cold. Life is quite painful right now. But since i cant really move, hopefully Ill be able to upload more. Tell me what you think please. ~~~**

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Eli didn't show up until later that day, after the class he shared with Clare. When Clare was walking to Jake's truck, she saw his car parked nearby. He was hunched over the steering wheel, looking as if he were crying. Beginning to make her way over, Jake interrupted Clare, honking the horn of the truck.

"What's your problem Jake?" Clare sighed as she climbed in.

"Were you on your way to that goth kids car?" His eyes were piercing, concern almost showing through.

"Don't call him 'that goth kid'. He has a name. Its Eli. And so what if I was?" With a huff, Clare inserted her headphones, turning on Sleeping With Sirens, showing Jake she was not in the mood for any more conversation, good or not.

The ride to the house was seemingly less awkward than Clare thought it would have been, the two of them both mad for different reasons.

Before the car even came to a stop, clare stalked out of the car and into the house, beelining straight for her room.

Her text tone suddenly went off, and she reached into her pocket to see who was demanding her attention. She didn't recognize the number. Reading on, she learned who it was.

_Clare, Adam gave me your number. Hope you don't mind. Oh. By the way this is Eli. Anyway. I'll eventually explain why i was absent today. Just not right now._

Clare was left pondering what was going on with Eli, but only knowing him for a few days, she figured out not to push him, and that in time, the truth would be revealed.

Saturday came along, and Helen had announced the night before that Saturday would be 'family fun day'. To say that Clare wasn't looking forward to it was an understatement. She had better things to do with her time than spend time with her step-brother, who still didn't like her, her step-father, who had hardly spoken a word to her since she blew off his event, and her mother, who spent all her time making sure that Jake and Glen were comfortable and ignoring Clare.

They were in the car going to a local beach, and Clare had texted Adam what her plans for the day were. Thankfully they arrived to the beach in a timely fashion, not forcing the family to try and include Clare in their chat any more than they had to. The night before Clare had done some research about this area, and she had learned that there were a few creeks and waterfalls in the surrounding area. Clare knew very well that once they got there her mom would be too enveloped in what Glen and Jake were doing to even noticed if she disappeared.

"Okay guys!" Helen pronounced a little over enthusiastically as he hopped out of Glen's red truck. "I packed lots of snacks and plenty to drink. So lets have some fun!"

Clare turned and noticed her surroundings. The beach wasn't that full, but there was enough people that could she could get 'lost' in. So she grabbed her Ipod and phone, turned towards the woods where she saw a path, and didn't turn back to see if anyone decided to follow her.

She decided to turn on her Ipod, and the first song that came on was one of her favorites, If I Leave, by A Day To Remember. She felt as if it suited her life well, and in most ways it did.

Clare walked down the path in silence for about 15 minutes, listening to her Ipod and taking in the pure beauty of the woods. According to her map, she was about 500 feet away from the first creek. She took out one of her headphones to see if she could hear any water, and sure enough, the moving water could be heard. She sped up her pace, and after pushing through the last of the brush, she came upon one of the most magical places she had ever laid eyes on.

The creek was wider than she thought it would be, and there were rocks laying just below the water, some of them up higher, to the point where you could jump on them without getting wet. It was early enough that the sun wasn't that high in the sky, so it was about the height of the trees. It was in a spot where rays of light shot through the space between the trees, making parts of the creek glisten like diamonds. There were a few boulders about 10 feet from where the trail let out, so Clare made her way over to sit on the boulders and watch the water move by. An occasional animal would appear, and for some reason, Clare didn't freak out like she usually would at the sight of animals. The creek was so peaceful, it could have been her new favorite place in Canada. She was just about to move on to the next spot she had circled on her map, when she heard the brush rustle behind her. The animals she had saw before were small and couldn't make that loud of a noise. Clare was too afraid to look around, so she sat there silently, hoping whatever had found her would leave her in peace. She closed her eyes, praying that she would leave the woods alive. Suddenly, whatever had come by her, had moved closer, and hopped on the rock next to her. Her eyes flashed open, and she let out a scream. She didn't want to know what was next her, but she had to find out, so she looked over and screamed again. There, watching her have a mental breakdown, was a very peaceful looking... Eli?

"You have quite the lungs on you." Eli spoke when she decided she could stop screaming.

"What... Is... Your... Problem?" Clare was panting heavily, having just been scared half to death.

"Well Adam told me you would be here. So I came. I asked Jake where you went because I couldn't find you anywhere on the beach. He said he saw you heading into the woods but he didn't really care where you actually were. I flipped him off and headed in here, and i've adventured in here before and I knew how beautiful the creeks were, so I figured you would be here. And I was right."

"May I ask why you decided to stalk me in the woods?"  
"Clare. We need to talk."

Clare knew they needed to talk. But she hadn't expected it so soon.


End file.
